This invention relates to a counterflow extraction column for the liquid-liquid extraction, during simultaneous electrolysis, of two phases which are insoluble in one another. The extraction column is preferably used for the separation of uranium-plutonium compounds and includes a vertically arranged, elongated tube in which there are arranged anodes, cathodes, as well as anode and cathode chambers which communicate with one another without diaphragms.
In a known column of the above-outlined type the anode chamber is separated from the cathode chamber by a tube containing nozzle plates, the apertures of which maintain communication between the two chambers. The nozzle plates constitute cross-sectional constrictions in the cathode chamber which may lead to a flooding of the column (phase reversal from a dispersed phase to a continuous phase) because of speed increase. In addition, after a longer service, in the tube or in the anode chamber an organic phase accumulates which has to be removed (drawn away) in a circumstantial manner. Further, such a removal adversely affects the reduction process.
It is a further disadvantage of the above-outlined known arrangements that the aqueous solutions can only be partially introduced into the reduction chamber (effective reaction), at best in a proportion that equals the ratio of the cross-sectional area of the annular extraction chamber to that of the cathode chamber. The separation effect of the cathode chamber with regard to the organic phase is thus not at an optimal value. This leads to a danger of stationary solvent accumulations in the central anode tube, as already mentioned above.